Preschool and other random updates..

We are continuing to do preschool at home.  As many of you know, Evan's birthday is in late-August, so he missed the cut-off to start preschool in the fall.  This is something I was not upset about at all, as I didn't have to make the choice this past year of whether or not to send him to preschool.  Instead of just "randomly" working on letters, numbers, and other preschool"ish" tasks, I made the decision to be more intentional.  At the suggestion of one of my close friends, I tried using the Hubbards Cupboard curriculum.  It is great!!!  I would highly recommend this curriculum to anyone considering doing preschool at home.  It's Bible-based, free, and gives you so many ideas and creative ways to teach.  Although I don't follow their instructions word for word, I definitely use it as a base from which to expand and do with it what I think will be the best and most fun for Evan.  Each week has a specific Bible story, specific letter or number, and a specific topic (all of these have corresponding songs and memory verses for the kids to memorize).  For example, this week we have been talking about the story of Abraham and Isaac, the letter "E", and emergencies (trying to decide what is an emergency and what isn't, what to do in a certain emergencies, 911, etc).  It's been great for both Evan and I and gives us both something to look forward to each week.  Here are some recent photos of Evan's playroom in the basement that is slowly transforming into our preschool room also :)

This is where we do most of our crafts and activities...  And we talk about the days of the week and the weather...

His alphabet.  Each week we incorporate "embellishing" these letters with something that starts with that letter.  For example, the letter "D" has dots all over it. 

World Map and Prayer Wall.  The map has been a great way for us to talk about Evan's baby sister in Africa (notice the hearts in Indiana and Ethiopia), and the prayer wall reminds us to pray for our loved ones.  We occasionally add a new name and talk about the letter sounds.  As a result, he can now "read" each of these names.

 And now for some random updates on our family and Project Life photos:

Playiing at Bounce Mania with friends from church!  It was FREEZING in there- it's inside an ice rink!

My afternoon tea with heart marshmallows- one of my Project Life pictures!

Many of the books I've been enjoying lately... 



Evan and Grandma Bev when we visited with her one day last week...

And for those of you wanting an adoption update:

Our dossier is en route to Ethiopia! Translation for those of you unfamiliar with the process wanting to know what this means- After our dossier was received in Utah by our agency it was sent to the state of Utah to be authenticated and then back to our agency. Then it was sent to Washington DC to be authenticated again and then back to our agency. And now it is on it's way to Ethiopia! When it is received in Addis Ababa (capital of Ethiopia), it will be translated. We are eagerly awaiting that phone call with news of a referral! We still anticipate it to be a little while, but we are high enough on the waiting list that we could be getting that call anytime! We know His timing is perfect, but it's hard not to wonder each morning whether today is the day!!